just will not eat veg...

[Tweakster]

I've actually done a bit of a 180 to this and stopped trying to hide them or sneak them in.  We now try to give a raw veg for snack - so far he eats cucumber, slices of bell peppers, and carrots occasionally.  I kind of stopped worrying that we have a veg at every meal or with his dinner and how to get it hidden and just offer it as snack instead.  So then his dinner is usually a protein and grain if we can get it in, and fruit.  Or I will just throw a few of the raw veg sticks on there too.  So far it's going fairly well and we manage to some veg into him almost every day now.  Even if it's only 1 or 2 bites it counts!

[Mom to M&M]

Yes Wendy, even 1 or 2 bites counts! I do both - I offer veg (either raw or cooked) as is with many meals or snacks AND I put veggies inside lots of foods. Like crunchy chicken tenders with carrot and sweet potato puree under the breading, breakfast cookies with spinach puree, etc. This way I know that both kids (well DD is already a great veg eater most of the time) is getting lots of veggies - sometimes "hidden" - and slowly learning to like/know vegetables as they really do taste and know they are part of a meal.

[Tweakster]

Karen would you please be my mommy lol?

[mmom]

Karen would you please be my mommy lol?

Love this comment.

Karen, I really need your recipes.  You are my kind of gal.  I thought I was creative with food.  But you have me beat!

[Mom to M&M]

Thanks ladies. But I can't take credit for all of them - some of them are my recipes and some of them are from Sneaky Chef! Like today DS snacked on roasted chickpeas (he loves them).

I also make a really good, and easy, minestrone soup with tons of veggies if your kids will do soup. And you could always puree the veggies if they won't eat them as is in the soup.

The chicken tenders tonight were a BIG hit with both kiddos (DD had a salad on the side with lots of red cabbage) - happy to post the recipe linked from Sneaky Chef if wanted. And the breakfast cookies were good too, though I should have cooked them a few more minutes to get a bit crisper.

Some of my "recipes" are more just things like adding in mashed cauliflower to mashed potatoes, using sweet potatoes to make homemade fries instead of regular, etc. And DD will happily SCARF down green beans if I cook them for hours in the crockpot with turkey bacon thrown in there. Plain she'll eat a bit grudgingly but in the SC with the bacon she'd eat a boatload happily!

[hjrmom01]

Karen, how do you do your roasted chickpeas?? And I'll take the chicken tender link

[Mom to M&M]

Sure Alyssa! Here is the link for the tenders - I tasted one too and thought they were very good. I used the pan fry method but then reheated in the oven before serving. http://www.education.com/magazine/column/entry/chicken_tenders/

As for the roasted chickpeas, I take a can of low sodium garbanzo beans, drain and rinse them well, then toss them in a bowl with 1 tbsp sugar, 1tsp cinnamon and 1/2 tsp salt. Then roast them at 350 for 50-60 minutes, shaking the pan/mixing every 10-15 minutes or so. That recipe is actually Sneaky Chef as well, though I add a bit extra sugar and salt than she calls for. Frankly I don't love the chickpeas myself (prefer them in hummus or the like) but DS really enjoys them!

[hjrmom01]

Thanks Karen!! I'll give them a try. I love chickpeas so we'll see if H does too!!! Chicken fingers are hit and miss here. Which I'm kinda surprised about....what kid doesn't like chicken fingers?! Oh yeah, mine 

[momtonb&ab]

have you seen the cook book by Jessica Seinfeld called Deceptively Delicious.  It is awesome and is a book full of reciepes that hide vegies.

this book is brilliant.  we don't need to hide veggies per se here but we LOVE the recipes in it!

[Mom to M&M]

This worked great for lunch today... Cut up some broccoli florets very tiny and sauteed them in olive oil and granulated garlic for about 10 minutes. Then I coated some enriched bread thinly with olive oil and cooked each side till golden brown, then added the broccoli, then cheese (I use all natural yogurt cheese slices), put together and cooked until cheese was melted. Like a healthy sort of grilled cheese and DS LOVED it (and he won't eat broccoli on its own yet).